Jerry, I have a 14×14x4 chunk of spalted Palo Verde, of which I am hesitant to turn. Now that I know what it looks like I “think” I’ll think about it, as it is still wet. Is Palo Verde like turning Mesquite – stable wet or dry ?

-- When I was a kid I wanted to be older . . . . . this CRAP is not what I expected !

Jimbo, most Palo Verde won’t look like this, which is exceptional. Most desert Palo Verde’s don’t get up past 12” OD, and most I’ve seen here in Tucson have been about as exciting as citrus wood. Bland is the right description.

As far as turning wet or dry, it is a joy. It’s like citrus, or even Bradford pear, which was the easiest turning wood I’ve gotten my hands on. Citrus ranks second, and Palo Verde is right there for ease of turning. The only thing I will warn you about is if you have dogs, and when turning the PV, if you smell something you think you may have stepped in, don’t accuse the dogs. It’s a 100% bet it’s the wood smelling up the place. It’ll stay with you for a couple days even though you’ve showered each day.

Rough your piece to 1” thick, and bag it dry for about 2-3 weeks. If you choose, add wood chips, but is not absolutely necessary and will take another week for drying. Remove it from the bag, and turn it to finish. From that point, I just leave them out to completely dry, which takes about another week with no ill effects. After you know it’s dry, then sand it if necessary, and finish it with your favorite finish.

I’ll post a couple pictures of one I did from blank to finish bowl in about 3 hours. I wanted it to shrink and warp, but didn’t expect it to warp how it did.

All I can say about Palo Verde is I like it’s qualities. It’s easy to turn, it keeps it’s shape while still on the lathe, and it finishes well.

It will spalt if you put it in a plastic bag with wet shavings and store in a warm or hot place. Look for mold, and when you think it’s going to be what you want, remove it from the bag and turn it.

Dry Palo Verde is also easy to turn. The difference between wet and dry PV is there is no dust with the wet, and the smell is cut over 90%. It still turns easily, and sands really good. Dry will usually have bug tracks, and wet will have the bugs if you wait too long.

I don’t find turning Mesquite and PV to be any different other than the odor from PV and the fragrance of Mesquite, as both woods are very stable while working them… .. Jerry (in Tucson)

PS, Jimbo, just looked at your profile. I had a visitor from ABQ last weekend. I’ll see if he would be willing to make contact with you if you want…..

For the PV I’m going to be milling, will I need to weight it down a lot or does it dry stable enough to use only minimal weight in the stack? Eucalyptus needs a ton of weight and I can get by with nothing on top of Mesquite.

Woody, Palo Verde is stable like mesquite. Eucalyptus on the other hand, is like nothing else I’ve ever seen except for Home Depot lumber. It explodes, twists and might even go into the fetal position if you’d let it. I did 2 Euc bowls, and both look like taco shells after drying. hehehe…............ Jerry (In Tucson)

Woody, Palo Verde is stable like mesquite. Eucalyptus on the other hand, is like nothing else I ve ever seen except for Home Depot lumber. It explodes, twists and might even go into the fetal position if you d let it. I did 2 Euc bowls, and both look like taco shells after drying. hehehe…............ Jerry (In Tucson)

- Nubsnstubs

That’s good to know. Most of my 30 gallon barrels of water are going to be taken up by my Eucalyptus stacks. Without it, I’d lose over 50% in my pile at the very least. It’s worth it though, as it’s some of the prettiest wood I have seen. Especially the quartersawn pieces.